<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Market Day by RoseisaRoseisaRose</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25348675">Market Day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseisaRoseisaRose/pseuds/RoseisaRoseisaRose'>RoseisaRoseisaRose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Slice of Life, and flayn who maybe has a crush, and who can blame her, but mostly just likes hanging out, children love cats so children must love felix, fluff and nonsense, pre timeskip, that's only logical professor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:01:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,497</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25348675</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseisaRoseisaRose/pseuds/RoseisaRoseisaRose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Annette loves everything about the markets at Garreg Mach: the fried sticky sweets she gets from food carts, the expensive and elaborate fashions she can’t ever afford, the stray cats purring against her legs as she walks through the streets, Felix Fraldarius teaching a 9-year-old to use a sword – </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Wait. That last one is not like the others.</p>
<p>And yet, there it was.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Netteflix oneshot based on Felix having “Children at the Market” as a preferred teatime conversation, a fact I find extremely delightful.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>139</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Market Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Annette held up another scarf and ran her fingers across it longingly. Anna’s selection was generally hit or miss, but she had outdone herself this week. Cherry red with deep green flowers embroidered across the edges; a swirling pattern of purple and blue that seemed to move even as the scarf stayed still, apricot fading to pink fading to white and back to the beginning of the pattern. And it would be autumn soon enough, Annette thought sadly, and she might be in need of winter wear.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Except she was from Faerghus, and no one from Faerghus actually needed more winter wear this far south. Her grandmother was certain to send her a care package soon, and it would undoubtedly have a hand-knit scarf, sturdy and practical and some sensible shade of goldish-brown. It would keep her warm and buried all winter and she didn’t have a need for a rainbow assortment beyond that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette felt a sting at her ingratitude, for a moment. Mercie never received care packages, from grandmothers or anyone else. And Mercie never complained. Maybe she could buy one of Anna’s scarves for Mercie. That might be nice. Except that even if she was purchasing out of the goodness of her heart, there was still the matter of the price tag.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anna tilted her head impatiently, but her expression was sympathetic, even if Annette could recognize the resigned annoyance in her voice. “You want me to set that aside for next week, hon?” she asked, used to Annette’s dance with major purchasing decisions.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I think – maybe – no, that’s alright, Anna. Nothing’s really caught my eye today,” Annette lied. “What’s the special on vulneraries this week?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was a good system she had going on. She volunteered to do the shopping for the class, everyone considered her a hard worker and valuable team member, and Anna didn’t mind her excessive window-shopping because she’d eventually buy <em> something</em>, even if it was with army funds.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anna smiled. “Great special. Buy five, get five for exactly the same price.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette winced. “At least give me a baker’s dozen, Anna,” she pleaded. Haggling was not her strong suit, but if she couldn’t save the army money she might lose her position to Ashe, who didn’t like window-shopping as far as she knew but <em> loved </em> being helpful, making him a dangerous rival. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She left Anna’s stall with no scarves, thirteen vulneraries, and enough leftover money that Byleth might vaguely smile at her when she returned to the monastery. All in all, a great trip to the market, even if the scarves would have to live in her head rather than around her neck for the time being.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette walked through the busy streets cheerfully, humming to herself, the bag of vulneraries hoisted against her hip. She loved the market at Garreg Mach. There was always a new stall to explore, a merchant with a fruit she’d never even heard of, a traveler with updates on the fashions straight out of the capital cities, an intermingling of scents and sights and sounds that she could spend her whole life sorting out and tracking down and still never know them all. It was nothing like the markets in the villages she could walk to in Dominic, where everything seemed the same, week after month after season after year. It reminded her more of the markets in Fhirdiad, memories from her childhood when she would cling to her mother’s skirts as they efficiently did the weekly shopping, her mother dragging her from stall to stall in an overwhelming parade of color and conversation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The children here at Garreg Mach were braver; they ran from their parents as soon as they arrived at the market, finding each other or stray cats or traveling performers to entertain them while their mothers haggled and their fathers argued. Annette didn’t understand how these children knew when to return to their parents, but she slipped them sweets and scraps of street food for the cats and she broke up squabbles and she helped return lost ones to their families, the same as any Academy Student. It made her feel grown-up, to be part of the large market family that watched after these children, alternatively indulging them and keeping them in line. It made her feel like she was part of something larger than herself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A gaggle of children gathered at the side of the market today, surrounding a large space where a stall might have gone, but that remained empty this weekend. Annette adjusted her vulnerary bag and slowed her steps as she passed the crowd. She reluctantly admitted to still being entertained by street performers and musicians, even ones that geared their act towards children in hopes of coin or patronage from doting parents somewhere down the line. The sun was low in the sky and she’d miss dinner hours if she didn’t hurry home, but she could surely stay for one juggling act or magic trick.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>What she saw was so shocking the bag of vulneraries slipped from her grip, and she rushed to catch it before it could hit the ground. The top one tumbled from the bag and rolled away between the children’s feet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felix – her classmate, Felix Fraldarius; the most talented swordsman at the academy; the most sullen and unhappy noble in the Faerghus echelon; the most evil, self-satisfied, eavesdropping bully she’d ever known; her sworn enemy; the cruelest villain in all of Fódlan  – stood in the center of a semicircle of delighted children, an apple perched on the end of his sword, and Annette could swear he winked at a child in the front row as a chorus of cheers egged him on to his next trick.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Because he <em> was </em> doing tricks, that could be the only explanation. Not even Felix was villainous enough to challenge a handful of unarmed children to a sparring match, and they eagerly giggled as they waited, their attention completely focused on the end of his sword. Drawing out the tension, the silence, the waiting with what could only be a practiced performance, Felix finally flicked his wrist and sent the apple flying upwards. A half-dozen pairs of eyes followed the apple as it floated up, spun, and began a downward fall. Felix flicked his sword again, lazily, precise, and he neatly sliced the apple in half. The children burst into cheers as the apple halves lolled uselessly on the ground, and Felix’s smile was too smug, and almost handsome, and Annette had never been so shocked in all her life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette scanned the crowd, hanging back to avoid drawing attention to herself. It was a small gathering, all things considered – she’d certainly seen professional street performers draw more children, and sometimes even their parents, to watch the show. This had more the look of a friend who brought a friend who brought a friend. From the way the children clung to each other, whispering excitedly in each other’s ears as Felix gestured a child to the front and gave her an apple to throw, many of them seemed to already know each other well.  Annette’s eyes drifted from Felix as he stepped back, waiting for the child to toss the apple towards him. She landed on a girl far too tall to be among the crowd (as was Annette, which was a new experience), but who seemed no less engaged than her much shorter counterparts. Her coiled pigtails bounced as she clapped her hands and shouted encouragement to the girl at the center of the circle; she was clearly delighted by the proceedings.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Flayn? What are you doing here?” Annette asked, tentatively sliding up next to her classmate, hiding behind her bag of vulneraries in hopes that Felix wouldn’t notice her. He certainly seemed uninterested in Flayn.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, hello, Annette!” Flayn said brightly, a little too loudly. Annette swore the girl gave her a slight curtsy as she turned towards her. “Are you out doing the weekly shopping? I admire your work ethic so much; the professor must be ever so grateful to you for all your help!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, it’s great, I love to help,” Annette said, for once too distracted to be self-deprecating. “What’s going on with the circus act here?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, Felix?” Flayn turned back to him, and her eyes were shining once again. “This is my favorite of his tricks. You toss a piece of fruit to him, and he cuts it right in half! I’ve never been so diverted.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Your favorite – you mean – he has more than one?” Annette stuttered, trying to revise her entire worldview to account for this information, wondering if today she would also learn that the world was flat, or Flayn secretly had scales.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh yes,” Flayn gushed, turning back to Annette. “He can spin swords, or balance them, or sometimes he lets you try to hit him with a stick while he dodges and if you succeed he smiles at you. Well,” she added with a slight frown. “He doesn’t let me do that. He says I should be ‘actually training,’ but then he’s always too busy on the training grounds. Still, it’s fun to watch, isn’t it?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette turned, open-mouthed, back to look over at the center of the semicircle again. The children were cheering again as the girl returned to her best friend, clutching half of an apple in her hand. Annette desperately hoped she wouldn’t try to eat it; it had almost certainly fallen to the ground.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alright. Anyone else?” Felix asked. At least one thing was expected – outside of his tricks, Felix had absolutely no stage presence. His voice was flat, unimpressed, almost annoyed, as if he couldn’t care less if anyone else volunteered and could give up apple cutting forever without a single regret. It was exactly how he sounded when he talked to his friends, or in class.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The only time he <em> didn’t </em> sound like this was when he slyly encouraged Annette to repeat the footwork to her song about cakes or asked her when he was going to hear the Swamp Beasties song or some nonsense like that. It was the cruelest part of his teasing, in her opinion, the way he could act interested for once in his life, but only about things she wanted him to forget.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Still, the children didn’t need encouragement, or perhaps just didn’t understand biting sarcasm, and six or seven hands shot up at the same time, wildly waving for his attention. Out of the corner of her eye, Annette saw Flayn begin to raise her hand, then think better of it, clutching her hands in front of her eagerly instead.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was a bit chaotic, that many hands waving, every child talking at once, and for a brief moment Felix looked vaguely concerned. The concern flashed to annoyance when a particularly enthusiastic child threw something to him without warning. It bounced off his chest, and he caught it before it fell to the ground. A disappointed boo rippled through the crowd that he hadn’t sliced it in half. Felix frowned at the object in his hand, and Annette realized in horror it was the vulnerary that had fallen from her bag earlier – she had neglected to pick it up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, you can’t – I’m not just going to slice anything you throw at me,” Felix grumbled at the children, clearly annoyed. His eyes narrowed as he realized the object he was holding. “What are you kids even doing throwing these around? These are expensive,” he said, looking at the front row of children suspiciously.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, Annette, is that vulnerary one of yours?” Flayn asked. Loudly. So, so loudly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette wasn’t sure how to stop the inevitable – shushing Flayn loudly seemed off the table, as did tackling her. She supposed she could try ducking, or maybe wishing so hard she would disappear that the goddess would listen to her for once. But before she could commit to any of those ideas, Felix’s eyes snapped towards Flayn, and then immediately slid to Annette.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette tried to give a friendly wave, almost dropped the remaining vulneraries in the process, and settled on a friendly smile instead. Felix looked downright horrified.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s all, go home,” he said, turning his attention back to the children so he could ignore their disappointed objections more effectively.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Can we at least have the leftover apples?” one brave child called out above the chorus of <em> awwwws </em> that Felix was utterly unaffected by.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No. Go ask your parents for one,” Felix said, sheathing his sword. Annette could tell even without expertise that it was a dull blade, even if it sliced apples impressively. He handled it more carelessly than he did in battle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The children scrambled away from Felix like a parting curtain as he walked towards Annette and Flayn. He was practically stomping; his mouth set and determined, his eyes flashing. Annette nervously looked over at Flayn and she was positively beaming at him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why are you here,” he demanded as he walked up to them. “You should be at dinner.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Annette’s buying supplies for the professor; all the important stuff; we were nearly out,” Flayn sang out, adding plenty of details that Annette had not supplied her with. “Isn’t that great? How fun, for us to all be here like this.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“If you wanted to get back to your show, I was just going,” Annette said quickly, turning towards the monastery and power walking as fast as her legs could carry her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Which was rather slowly, as it turned out. Felix caught up to her instantly, leaving Flayn to scramble after them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It wasn’t a ‘show,’” he said sharply, pulling up beside her with an ease that Annette found frankly annoying. She’d be faster if the vulneraries weren’t weighing her down. “I was showing one kid one trick and her friends showed up.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The crowd gets bigger every time,” Flayn said brightly as she ran up on the other side of Annette. “I keep telling him to invite our class. Don’t you think that would be exciting? And now you’re here, so that’s one more!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Didn’t you say your brother would be looking for you at dinner?” Felix said, ignoring her contribution to the subject and changing it abruptly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That was two weeks ago!” Flayn protested. “He’s been much calmer as of late about me going out.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Still,” said Felix. “You wouldn’t want him to worry if you skipped dinner altogether. And we’re walking so slow, with all these supplies to carry.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette shot him an annoyed look, mostly because she was the one carrying all the supplies, but Flayn gave a gasp and covered her mouth at the realization.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re right, he <em>will</em> be worried,” she agreed, looking up at the sun to gauge how late it was getting. “Especially if I show up with you – not you, Annette. But he called you a ‘disrespectful wastrel’ just last week, Felix. I wouldn’t want him to think there was something between us; he’d come at you with an axe.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Can’t have that,” Felix agreed amiably, completely unconcerned with his newfound wastrel status.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Will you let Annette throw an apple for you next week?” Flayn asked eagerly, already pulling ahead of them and turning to walk backwards as she waited for the answer. “Or me?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Under no circumstances,” Felix said. “Enjoy dinner.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Flayn was gone in a rush of elaborate goodbyes and sincere compliments, leaving Annette and Felix to walk the rest of the distance alone. Annette had never felt so betrayed in her life. She never would have thought such a betrayal possible from Flayn, had she not seen Felix’s villainous manipulation firsthand. He was so underhanded, so sneaky, so duplicitous–</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And she knew something about him he didn’t want people to know.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette suddenly smiled to herself. Maybe this walk home wouldn’t be so bad after all.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She had to stop herself from humming out of pure delight as they walked along, but it wouldn’t do to give Felix more ammo when she had just gotten the goods on him. So they walked in silence, amid the hustle and bustle of the merchants and food carts and intermingling crowds. Annette grinned smugly at every passer-by, but Felix’s glare was so intense that no one tried to sell them anything.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You walk awfully slow, you know that?” Felix finally said, breaking the silence.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You can go ahead if you want; I’m in no hurry,” Annette said cheerfully. It would be fine if he wanted to talk about this later. She wasn’t going to forget.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No – I didn’t – it’s just. Ugh, let me take that,” Felix finally snapped, grabbing the bag of vulneraries from her hands and dropping the vulnerary he’d been carrying the entire time on top. Annette had to admit she was relieved – the bag had been stupidly heavy, which she just took as a reminder that she’d done a good job haggling. It was a bit vexing to see that Felix could carry it one-handed, but she put that out of her mind for the time being.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Trying to bribe me?” Annette chirped, swinging her now free hands behind her back and beaming up at Felix. “It won’t work, you know.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Bribe you for what? Extra vulneraries?” Felix scoffed. “Try someone who actually gets hit.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No! Felix!” Annette objected. Maybe it was her imagination, but he seemed to have sped up. Bag of supplies or not, he still had long legs. “I mean because of what I saw. What I <em>know</em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What? That Seteth thinks I need to stay away from his sister?” Felix said. “He’s right. Please tell her that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, not that! I’m talking about – you know,” Annette said, and she pantomimed swordfighing wildly, happy to have her hands free again. She looked up with a pleased smile at Felix, but he was unmoved by her performance. “You’ve got quite the act. I can see your name on the side of a troupe’s wagon now: The Amazing Felix Fraldarius!” She waved her hand out in front of her to follow the hypothetical words and accidentally slammed into Felix and the bag of vulneraries as she got to the last syllable of “Fraldarius.” Her squeak of apology was embarrassing, and completely reflexive – she’d never need to apologize to Felix for anything ever again, now – but as she looked up at him she was deeply annoyed to see that he was smirking.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Say I am bribing you, over – over all that,” he said. “Will carrying these back to the monastery for you work as a bribe? It’s a long walk.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No!” said Annette gleefully. “I could do that myself <em>easily</em>, I don’t care about that at all.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What’s your endgame here, then? All my desserts at dinner for the rest of the year? Want me to beat up Linhardt the next time he annoys you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette scrunched her nose. “I’ve never said Linhardt annoys me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s written all over your face,” Felix said. He reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out a spare apple, taking a bite out of it. Annette looked at it jealously – she <em> had </em> skipped dinner to do the shopping. Maybe she could start by demanding one of the apples –</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No. She had to focus.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You <em> know </em> what I want, Felix,” she said. “We’ve been over this before. The greenhouse? What you saw?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Steaks and cakes and crumbs and yums?” Felix supplied, and Annette wouldn’t have believed it before today but she could’ve sworn she heard the hint of a melody as he finished off the phrase.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes! Exactly! You forget <em> that </em> forever, and I’ll forget <em> this </em> forever,” Annette said, swinging her arm to approximate a sword slicing an apple in half.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felix was smarter this time – he stepped out of the way before Annette could accidentally smack him. “Sounds like a fair deal,” he said thoughtfully.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Really?” Annette asked, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Nope,” Felix said, and he was definitely walking a bit faster, Annette was sure of it. “Remember whatever you want about me; I couldn’t forget those songs if I tried.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Pure, furious adrenaline made it easy to catch up with Felix now. “I’ll – I’ll tell the whole monastery,” Annette spluttered, frustrated that Felix was looking around at the market rather than down at her, crunching away on his apple. “I’ll tell Ingrid. I’ll tell <em>Sylvain</em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tell them what, Annette?” Felix asked. “That children love me? That I’m a nice guy? That I can do ridiculously cool sword tricks in addition to cutting down any enemy that dares to cross me?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“First off all, they’re <em> not </em> ridiculously cool; you look so dumb,” Annette grumbled. “Second of all, I saw your face when you realized I was there. You’re embarrassed; I know it. Don’t try to pretend you’re not.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felix stopped for a moment, and looked down at her. “Maybe so,” he said, shrugging his shoulders with a nonchalance that Annette told herself <em> had </em> to be faked. “I certainly wasn’t expecting to see you hanging out with a bunch of seven year olds. But even if you tell people, it’s not like they’ll believe you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Flayn will back me up,” Annette said quickly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felix scoffed, actually scoffed, at this. “Last week Flayn tried to tell Ingrid she knew a general who fought in a battle 400 years ago. Like, personally knew him,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Flayn says the weirdest stuff, constantly. If <em> that’s </em> your best witness then I’m home free.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re evil, Felix!” Annette said, stomping her foot. And then, to hide the fact she had actually just stomped her foot, she started to stomp away. She sincerely hoped she’d never have to talk to Felix Fraldarius again as long as she lived.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felix, annoyingly, did not get the hint, and followed after her. Possibly because they were going to the same place. And he was still holding all her stuff. “I’m evil?” he repeated. “You’re the one who’s turned to a life of blackmail.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Only because you blackmailed me first!” Annette snapped. He was done with his apple now. She should’ve demanded it from him when she had the chance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Did I?” Felix asked. Annette hated the way he repeated her words back at her, the awful way they turned into jokes when he said them. “I don’t remember doing that. I think I’d remember doing that. I remember so much else about our conversations.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re a villain, Felix,” Annette said, stopping again. They were never getting back to the monastery at this rate. “An absolute scoundrel. What did Flayn call you? A wastrel? You’re that, too. Give me my bag back.” She reached for it angrily, as if he’d stolen it from her – which, as far as she could remember, he probably had, in his own twisted, Felix sort of way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, actually, can you hold it for a second?” Felix asked. He unceremoniously dropped the bag in Annette’s arms, and she stumbled under the weight. “I’ll be right back,” he added. He walked away before Annette could protest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette surveyed the market, peering over her bag of vulneraries. Maybe if she kept her eyes out, she would find out that Ingrid was secretly a blacksmith, or that Hubert excelled at the hurdy-gurdy.  Stranger things had happened. She had specific examples.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette thought about walking away, but it annoyed her that Felix had left the conversation with the upper hand. And the bag was really quite heavy. And she was a little bit curious about where he had gone off to. But mostly, she just wanted another chance to win the argument with him, for once. It wasn’t fair for him to leave in the middle of the conversation like that – she hadn’t been <em> nearly </em> finished with insulting him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The one thing she could say in his defense was that he didn’t keep her waiting long. Annette had just begun to seriously consider leaving again, shifting the vulnerary bag from one hip to the other, when Felix appeared in her line of vision. He balanced a meat skewer in one hand and a plate of something fried in the other. Annette frowned deeply, annoyed already – hadn’t he had enough to eat?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You want the wild boar or the fruit dumplings?” he asked before she could start yelling at him again – she hadn’t picked a topic so she was slow to start.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What?” Annette asked. Then, before he could repeat himself, she quickly added. “Fruit dumplings, please.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thought so,” Felix said. “So you just take this, and I’ll just take thaaat.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took them more than one try to coordinate the exchange, but soon enough Felix was holding the bag of vulneraries and Annette was greedily clutching a plate of cherry dumplings from the best vendor at the market.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“These are my favorite,” she breathed, biting into one. The filling spilled out over the sides of the dumpling and down her chin, and she licked at her fingers with little regard for decorum. She was sure Felix wouldn’t care if she was unladylike.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m aware,” Felix replied dryly. “You and Ashe won’t shut up about that place; if I have to hear about it in lecture one more time –”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Because it’s <em>so good</em>,” Annette protested. She held up one of the dumplings, her fingers sticky and red and getting cherry glaze everywhere. “You want one?” she asked, hoping he’d say no.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His disgusted expression said no for him; she was delighted to see it. “Those are for you. Dinner ends in like five minutes,” he said by way of explanation. “I told you, you walk <em> way </em>too slowly.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Shut up,” Annette said cheerfully, cramming another dumpling in her mouth. “What do I owe you?” she asked through a mouthful of dough. She’d been hoping to save her pocket money for the month towards one of those scarves, but at the moment she didn’t regret spending it on a snack, not when she’d saved the class some money and didn’t have to carry anything home and wasn’t going to miss dinner after all and knew a secret that made Felix blush when she brought it up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felix shrugged, or shrugged as best he could given how much he was carrying. “Don’t worry about it,” he said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette frowned. “Felix, I can’t just take this,” she protested. “It’s not like you’ll take anything I bake as repayment.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felix looked down at her. “I don’t need repayment,” he said, and there was that smirk again, now that she knew when to look for it. “I’m buying your silence.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Annette’s mouth was too full of cherry dumpling to shoot back that such cheap tricks would never work on her. Felix picked up the pace again, swerving around a gaggle of monks and making his way towards the stairs leading up to the monastery gates. Annette darted after him, leaving the haggling and arguing and laughter of the merchants and the children and the market behind them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's one of my favorite things (and I think one of the fandom's favorite things) that Felix likes to talk about cats, and I will read 100000 fics about Felix liking cats, that's just a good premise. But I didn't realize he also evidently likes CHILDREN? Felix you softie, you fool absolutely no one. Next we're going to find out he secretly likes cherry dumplings, or choir practice, or actual rays of sunshine that sing while they clean.</p>
<p>Anyway I probably didn't write Annette as nearly brutal enough but in my defense she was probably rather in shock.</p>
<p>Hope you all are staying safe out there! Pet a cat or eat some sweets or show a child a magic trick or something, times be hard. Hugs and kisses to you all!</p>
<p>  <a href="https://twitter.com/Rose3Writes"> Catch me on twitter.</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>